T4America Blog

Smarter transportation case study #4: Dynamic Parking Pricing, San Francisco

SFpark has reduced idle driving time and cut congestion by making it easier to track and locate parking in San Francisco.

In 2009, 30 percent of driving San Francisco consisted of drivers circling around the block looking for parking. Now, city officials are pursuing an intelligent parking-pricing model called “SFpark” to cut down on the wasted time and fuel that too often results from this elusive parking search. A two-year pilot phase began this past summer.

Under SFpark, parking spaces throughout the city will contain sensors that give real time digital information about whether the space is occupied and for how long. The sensors will be wired into a database that coordinates parking across San Francisco. Information is compiled at a block-by-block level and available via the web, smart phone applications, text messages and roadway signs.

In order to keep an optimum amount of parking available throughout the city, the hourly parking rates will be raised or lowered in response to demand. The changes in price will occur no more than once a month and be published in advance. The goal is to set a pricing level that will keep from 10 to 30 percent of spaces in a given area vacant.

“The idea is to give people more choice, more convenience and to reduce congestion,” Mayor Gavin Newsom told the San Francisco Chronicle, earlier this year.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency received a $19.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Urban Partnership Program, which amounts to 80 percent of the SFpark project costs. The remaining 20 percent of the program comes from the agency’s budget.

For more information: San Francisco Chronicle

SFpark Overview from SFpark on Vimeo.

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Editor’s Note: Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. Many of these smart transportation solutions are already fueling innovation throughout the country, through both the public and private sector. These 14 case studies from around the U.S. and the world demonstrate the community benefits smart mobility solutions are giving regions, cities, and businesses.

Read the ITS Case Study Series